Chicago Public Library

Since 1873, the Chicago Public Library has offered equal access to information, ideas, and knowledge through books, programs, and other resources. Modern technology has increased that access and the Library has kept pace, offering free Internet access, WiFi and over 80 online newspapers, magazines, and databases. The Library welcomes and supports all people in their enjoyment of reading and their pursuit of lifelong learning through free author talks and educational programs every month in each of the 79 locations throughout the city. Celebrate the freedom to read, to learn, and to discover.

Markus Zusak, author of the fall 2012 One Book, One Chicago selection sits down with Chicago Tribune columnist and author Dawn Turner Trice for a conversation about the vision behind The Book Thief and the book’s enormous global success.

Activist and former political candidate Paul Rusesabagina joins Worldview host Jerome McDonnell for a discussion on Rusesabaagina’s autobiography, An Ordinary Man, and about taking action against injustice. Rusesabagina is widely known for sheltering over a thousand Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Listen in to acclaimed author Dennis Lehane for a discussion of his new book, Live by Night, an epic tale of the making and unmaking of a gangster during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s. Lehane, who is well-known for being a prolific author, has written several successful novels including Gone, Baby, Gone, Mystic River, The Given Day, and Shutter Island.

Listen in to Douglas Foster, associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, who discusses his new book, After Mandela: The Struggle For Freedom in Post-Apartheid South Africa. According to Foster, half the population of South Africa is under the age of 24, and it’s this younger generation that will shape the future of South Africa.